All - route shocking experience inn FlySafair.

FLIGHT FN102 01JUN 1*** I flew from Cape Town to Johannesburg yesterday which was the worst travel experience I have ever had. I have been in the inbound tourism industry in Southern and East Africa for 30 years. I have flown on the best and the worst airlines, so have a very good idea of rules, regulations and expected levels of service.

Check in and luggage allowance I had 2 duffel bags which weighed 18kg together. When checking in the lady said I could only check in one bag, but I can buy " another bag allowance" for R 250.00. So what was I to do with the other as I already had a laptop and handbag for cabin storage? She told me to take it with me and "sky - check" it. I was floored. I am fully aware of where the sky - checked luggage goes - in the front hull, so in actual fact it becomes " checked" luggage. You just get it quicker than checked luggage.

I would like to know where on your confirmation it says only 1 bag. Here is a screenshot of my confirmation. It clearly says 20kg checked luggage. That means 1 or 2 bags not exceeding the 20kg allowance.

Boarding The boarding was delayed and should have started at 16h55 and only started at 17h20. It was awful. No communication was forthcoming even on the APP. Being used to flying, I booked seat 6C on the aisle and let everyone board ahead of me. When I got to my seat, there was no overhead luggage room. They moved my laptop bag to the overhead compartment above row 19. I have never been on a flight where such large cabin luggage is allowed and all flight rules and regulations simply ignored. When we disembarked, I watched as people took 3 and 4 overhead pieces with them, most of them MUCH bigger than the approved dimensions and certainly weighing much more than 7kg.

In front of the boarding counters, there was a "box" where you could put your bag to check the dimensions. It was the most ridiculous thing as 99.9% of passengers' bags would never fit into that space.

All airline on board luggage rules were simply ignored. Should you not have taken heed of the Singapore airlines flight incident last week? Will you only take the necessary steps when the plane hits turbulence and a 15kg piece of luggage goes flying out and kills someone as the overhead compartments were simply too full and heavy?

Departure Having flown so much over a number of years, I am used to the process, BUT this was something else. The captain told the crew to close the doors and cross - check. Within seconds of the doors closing, the plan was already pushing back and we departed. I felt extremely uncomfortable and concerned. Should caution not preceed anything else?

Flight The first thing the captain said when we hit cruising altitude, was that he apologised for the " slightly delayed" take - off , but that they had landed late from their previous flight. He told us not to worry and that he would get us to Johannesburg on time or before. Of course he must have flown like a bat out of hell as we arrived 10 minutes early.

The landing was appalling as well with the brakes app**** so hard, I fell forward in my seat.

Flight attendants Your onboard staff were the only shining light on the day. They were friendly, helpful and justifiably apologetic to everyone. You should never have to put your staff under the pressure that you did. You could see the stress hiding behind a big smile. Wade "Thebus -sp '' was a true ambassador for FlySafair and he should be commended.

Flight price Of course when flying, especially domestic, price is important, but so is safety. My flight cost was a total of R 1 254.00, but around R 50.00 of that was extra insurance I chose to take. The closest other airline was Airlink at R 1 410.00. I personally love Airlink. They are always on time, the booking process is clear and consistent and their checked and on - board luggage allowance is clear and enforced correctly. I decided to try FlySafair, but with the "extra" luggage allowance I had to "buy, you would have been more expensive. Airlink also includes a snack and drink, something I paid an additional R 48.00 for - a water and packet of chips - quite ridiculous.

So your marketing process is to lure people in with a lower price and then surprise them with all the extra costs.Perhaps Airlink is not a competitor as you are aiming for a "USA service", where it runs like a 'bus service", no added extra, no frills etc - hence your name " low cost airline". That is fine and many people will be happy with that, but DON'T provide poor service and hide extra costs, somewhere in the fine - print. That is not acceptable and neither is putting your passengers safety at risk. Low cost or not, that is not negotiable and a matter the CAA will frown upon.

I will never book a Flysafair flight for me or a family member and most definitely not for any of my international guests. The idea was to try you out and see what I thought. The experience was less than satisfactory and I can never, in good conscience, allow my international guests to go through that. It is not a true South African hospitable experience. Simply put, it was awful. I will be writing to the CAA regarding the flaunting of cabin baggage regulations, because after the bad service check in and delays, passenger safety is not negotiable.